Manchester City got cold feet in the Arctic Circle as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at tiny Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League. A nightmare trip to the far north of Norway got even worse for City when Rodri was sent off in the second half, meaning the Spain international will be suspended for their final league phase game against Galatasaray next week, which is now looking like a must-win game for Pep Guardiola’s side if they are to qualify automatically for the last 16.
Centre-forward Kasper Hogh, who had been linked with a move to Norwich City earlier in the day, put the hosts in dreamland with two goals in quick succession midway through the first half before a scorching strike from Jens Petter Hauge after the break made it three. Rayan Cherki responded for City, but Rodri’s sending off ruined their hopes of a comeback and they risk dropping out of the top eight places and potentially facing a play-off to confirm their place in the competition’s latter stages.
City still looked shaken by their emphatic defeat in the Manchester derby and almost fell behind in the third minute to a rapid counter-attack from Bodo which broke up when they got into the area. Guardiola’s side then started to play the game on their terms with short passing moves but, just as on Saturday at Old Trafford, they were vulnerable due to their high defensive line and inexperienced defence.
Max Alleyne failed to stop a through-ball and it led to Bodo outnumbering City on the break as Ole Didrik Blomberg crossed for Hogh to head the ball through the legs of Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net. Less than two minutes later, Bodo struck again, and again Alleyne was culpable as he struggled to deal with a bouncing ball and allowed Blomberg to feed Hogh once more.
Erling Haaland missed two glorious chances to strike back before half-time, and Bodo’s dream night got even better when Hauge scored an outstanding goal, picking the ball up near the byline and beating two men before curling the ball into the top corner from outside the area.
Bodo were brought back down to earth soon after when Cherki reduced the deficit, but the sight of Rodri being shown red for two careless yellow cards in the space of 54 seconds put the Scandinavians back on track for the club’s first ever win in the Champions League proper.
GOAL rates City’s players from the Aspmyra Stadion…
Goalkeeper & Defense
Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10):
Had a tough evening after his brilliant display at Old Trafford, letting Hogh’s header slip through his legs before then not making himself big enough to stop the striker’s second. He did prevent things getting worse with an impressive saves with his legs in the second half and in added time.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (4/10):
Struggled in the unfamiliar role of right-back. Didn’t get back in time for the second goal while he engaged in ball-watching for the first when he should have been keeping track of Hogh.
Abdukodir Khusanov (5/10):
Powerless to stop Bodo’s waves of attacks, even though he was far from the biggest culprit.
Max Alleyne (3/10):
His inexperience has shown up badly in the last two games after a promising start to his return from loan at Watford. At fault for the first two goals and also missed a good chance with a header from a corner.
Nico O’Reilly (5/10):
The first two goals came from down his left side, although he was actually City’s most competent defender. Showed silky skills to set up Cherki’s strike.
Midfield
Rico Lewis (5/10):
Started in midfield after getting torn apart by United’s forwards at right-back and he didn’t fare much better, giving City little control.
Rodri (3/10):
One of his worst performances for City, coming after another stinker at Old Trafford. Kept giving the ball away, including in the build-up to Bodo’s third goal, and compounded a bad situation with his reckless behaviour leading to the red card.
Tijjani Reijnders (5/10):
This was a game where City really missed Bernardo Silva as the Dutchman offered none of the security of the captain. He came close to scoring when he fired just wide of the near post.
Attack
Rayan Cherki (6/10):
Was responsible for the few bright moments City conjured, including their goal.
Erling Haaland (4/10):
A dreadful return to his homeland for a player who is suffering one of his worst spells in his City career. Air-kicked a clear opportunity in the first half and then missed the target with a decent effort before blazing over a third chance later on.
Phil Foden (5/10):
Couldn’t connect with his fellow attackers or give City any control in the middle.
Subs & Manager
Omar Marmoush (5/10):
Gave City a bit of an outlet down the left but it was too little too late given they were a man down.
Pep Guardiola (4/10):
Another poor day for the coach from a tactical point of view as he again set his team up to fail with a high defensive line against an infamously quick opponent. Made four changes from the derby but somehow kept faith in Foden and Rodri while playing Ait-Nouri on the right went horribly wrong.
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